A fisherman is among many hustling to load crab pots and ready boats on Pier 45 in San Francisco.

Photo: Brant Ward, The Chronicle

A fisherman is among many hustling to load crab pots and ready...

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The boat High Hopes may see fewer Dungeness crabs than hoped for this season.

Photo: Brant Ward, The Chronicle

The boat High Hopes may see fewer Dungeness crabs than hoped for...

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Ed Amato, aboard the Linda Noelle, is optimistic about the commercial crab season. Boats will head out Wednesday at dawn for the first catch if fishermen and wholesalers agree on a price.

Photo: Brant Ward, The Chronicle

Ed Amato, aboard the Linda Noelle, is optimistic about the...

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Rich Coco from Alioto's restaurant in S.F. checks a Dungeness crab from Washington, but he hopes to have local crab soon.

Photo: Brant Ward, The Chronicle

Rich Coco from Alioto's restaurant in S.F. checks a Dungeness crab...

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Brown pelicans and gulls hang around a seafood dumpster and crab pots waiting for a meal near Pier 45. At Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 45 in San Francisco, Calif., everyone is awaiting the opening of the commercial Dungeness crab season although early indications are the season won't be as good as last year.

They're as big and as healthy as ever. But there may be fewer of them, and no one knows what they'll cost.

That's the word from local crab fishermen, buyers and cooks who have been awaiting the Thursday start of the commercial crab season.

"How's it gonna be?" asked fisherman Dave Kemp as he mucked out the hold of his crab boat Blind Fate on Monday at San Francisco's Pier 45. "A bad time to be a crab!"

Because this year's crab prices remain up in the air, it's not clear if the boats will sail at dawn Wednesday in time to bring back the next day's first catch of the sweet, buttery delicacy that's a hallmark of Bay Area holiday dining.

Fishermen and the wholesale buyers are in negotiations, and both sides say they are hoping to avoid a stalemate, which last year delayed setting out the crab pots until after Thanksgiving, one of most popular days to feast on crab.

When the season finally begins, it happens fast.

"It is literally like a scene from an old Western with a land rush," said Kelly Bennett, a fish buyer and chef at Scoma's Restaurant at Fisherman's Wharf. "You've got a bunch of guys hanging out, hanging out, hanging out, and then they all rush to their boats like the start of a Le Mans race."

San Francisco Dungeness crab is popular because the rich, salty waters of the Gulf of the Farallones brine the critters as they mature for three years, Bennett said.

"The best thing in the world is a cold cracked crab, whatever you want to dip it in, an Anchor Steam (beer) and a bit of sourdough bread," Bennett said.

Fishermen from Bodega Bay, San Francisco and Half Moon Bay say the rumors of a scarce supply means they should get $3 per pound. But buyers say $2.50 per pound is a better deal. Consumers would likely end up paying a 150 percent markup on the wholesale price.

In 2011, buyers wanted $1.75 per pound and crabbers wanted $2.50 per pound. After delaying the catch almost two weeks, the two sides compromised at $2.25 a pound.

"From what I've heard it sounds like there isn't a vast abundance of crabs," said John Mellor, 49, who was been fishing crab for 30 years. "We feel that $3 minimum is the very bottom of what we should go for. There'll be a limited amount of crabs on the market, so it is a supply and demand issue."

Mellor and others point to reports from recreational crabbers who have been laying pots near the Farallon Islands since the start of their season on Nov. 3. So far, those crabbers have reported catching only a modest number of medium-size crabs.

Plus fuel and labor are more expensive than ever, Mellor said.

But a lower price is better for the consumer, buyers said. Sell less expensive crabs and people will buy more crab.

Everyone agrees they want to get the boats on the water.

"We want to get crabs before Thanksgiving," said Angel Cincotta, of the Alioto-Lazio fish company at Fisherman's Wharf. "That's important for the consumer."